Just wondering...does it really make a difference whether I pay $9 for a domain at stargate, or $35 at register.com? What's the difference?

I tell you the difference: $26 :)

Other from that there is no. Be sure before you select a registrar that they have a descent good control panel and support all features like name server registration etc.

A opensrs reseller is often a good choice as you can always manage your domain info directly from the opensrs site.

Thank you, but I must say, I am *very* new at this, and have never purchased a domain before, much less all this hosting business. I don't know anything about control panels, or why they would even be important. Could you explain?? :)

Edit: is Stargate a good choice for someone new at this? I don't want to spend a lot of money, it's just a personal website.

Just make sure that you register with a domain registrar who lets you have complete control over your domain without any hidden fees or caveats.

There is no difference in the actual domain that end up with, where the difference lies is in your ability as a domain owner to make changes to the domain in the future.

Some less than honorable registrars will charge you for assigning nameservers, or changing your domain info, changing ownership, transfering, etc.

Some will charge you very little to purchase the domain initially, and then large amounts for renewals or transfers.

Some make you fax them a change notice for any changes, and then they queue you up in their manual system until someone at the company can make the changes for you.

It's also not always the most expensive registrar who has the best service or features. This is a case where paying more does not always get you more - but you also need to be sure that you're not buying low to get in, and then pay through the nose later.

Good luck,

-t

I would seriously consider an openSRS reseller as your registrar :)

I use DirectNic.com and have always found them to be great. :)

I hate godaddy.com. it's a stupid system. they also charge you $50 to transfer a name to a new owner.

I use stargate.com. No problems at all. Godaddy charges you an arm and leg for the services stargate includes for free.

I've used directNIC for quite some time and am very happy with them. Top notch service, no-hidden fees, prompt support.

I also registered a couple of new domains with Stargate. They also seem excellent (full range of services, good support, very cheap), but I've only been with them for about a month.

I registered a domain with RegistryDomains.com and also signed up for a wholesale account with them (they're an enom affiliate/reseller). They have a full range of services and are cheap. So far I've been very impressed with their support and their desire to please. Probably not for beginners. The enom control panel (the place where you define what you want your domain to do) is confusing.

DO NOT go with NameZero. They attract you with a very cheap (or free) price, and then zap it to you later.

Originally posted by Abu Mami
DO NOT go with NameZero. They attract you with a very cheap (or free) price, and then zap it to you later. [/B]

And they register it in THEIR name rather than yours - so you don't actually own the domain.

www.gandi.net is another good budget registrar. No probs with them after 2 years. (Ugly site though.)

Well thank you all for all your help! I decided to go with Stargate, and it's working out okay so far. I have no idea what I'm doing, though! I've gotten a host, and I'm working on my ftp skills...I guess that's all there is to it! :)

DON'T use register.com You get less service for more money. They are the pits. :angry:

Good luck to you linziejoe; you're about to enter a whole new world with so much to learn. (Been there, done that :))

I concur. GANDI SARL is good, and they've recently improved their control panels somewhat. The English is still odd, but the French are known to be odd. :D

I particularly like their no-nonsense contract which states that you own your domain. I'd probably use http://www.stargateinc.com/ for domain reselling, though. The cumbersome ownership change procedure at GANDI SARL is good for making domain hijacking more difficult, but a large pain for fast ownership turnover.

Originally posted by Cannonball
http://www.gandi.net is another good budget registrar. No probs with them after 2 years. (Ugly site though.)

I like Tera-Byte.. I have no complaints with them so far..

Stargate did the job for me. Cheap as well.

Totally satisfied.

Short general answer to the original question: It can, yes (just ask some of the ex-NetSol customers here, for example). As to Stargate vs Register.com, I deal with neither and so have no specific answer. However (slightly longer answer), the price of registration is the least important of the four criteria I've used in determining which registrar is best for my needs: The language of the registration agreement, quality of support from the registrar, and ease of modifications to records (such as nameservers) take precedence over the immediate price. These things considered, I've settled on 000domains as my registrar of choice. Your needs may be different, of course, and, consequently, so may be your choice of registrar.

www.namebargain.com (a company of register.com) : low rates, control panel, DNS etc...

I agree about choosing an OpenSRS reseller, and it is not just because I am one! :)

My clients get full access to their domain through the opensrs site. All they have to do is enter their domain name, userid and password and they can change everything about their domain. It also allows you to have several domains all together under one login.

Whatever you do STAY AWAY FROM NETWORK SOLUTIONS!!!!

Network Solutions charges $35 and they could not pay me to have a domain registered with them. I have got to the point that I will transfer any of my hosting clients that are registerd with Network Solutions over to Opensrs for free. Most are happy to do so since they find it impossible to change anything on their registry etc.

I had one client whose previous web host disappeared and his site was down. It took him several weeks to be able to change his name servers because of Network Solutions (VeriSign). His site is an ecommerce site that has about 5,000 people visit it each day, so you can imagine how much that hurt!

The real problem is will the "registrar" be in business next year. Certainly NSI and Register.com will be here a year from now but what about a lot of the others?

What really happens when a registrar goes under and takes all the resellers with them? Certainly someone will pick up the accounts but that may not do you any good when you need a change now and they happen to just go under.

Bottom line......make sure they look like they are going to survive!

I bet you would have paid a $100/year for the domain to avoid this problem.

Just curious????


Am I the only one who can register domains through myself? Why are all you resellers registering through someone else?

Nosy eh?

Karen

Originally posted by USReference
The real problem is will the "registrar" be in business next year. Certainly NSI and Register.com will be here a year from now but what about a lot of the others?[clip]
OpenSRS is the number 2 registrar, presently behind only NSI. Their reseller model is profitable, and they provide domain management services at opensrs.net should your reseller disappear.

It's definately a safe place to register domains. You don't have to worry about the discount registrar who will go out of business when his venture capital runs out. You can only lose money for so long before you have to get out of the business...

Of course Verisign posted a huge loss last year. What does that say for their business model...

-t

Originally posted by thewitt

You don't have to worry about the discount registrar who will go out of business when his venture capital runs out. You can only lose money for so long before you have to get out of the business...

-t

Does your comment refer to a specific registrar(s)? I know of plenty of small discount registrars who are both profitable and do not use VC.

OpenSRS provides a great model for resellers, but not for the individual looking to register one or two domain names. OpenSRS, as far as I know, does not provide URL forwarding, POP3, etc.. As far as I am concerned OpenSRS is not a competitior for low cost registrars such as godaddy.com and stargate.com. They have a completely different business model and client base.

Nope. No one in particular.

-t

This is an valuable thread. I recently bought my first domain and didn't really give much thought to whom I purchased it from. Fortunately the host is reliable, responsive and uses Opensrs. The original reason for buying my own domain was to have more reliable email service than I'd had with my previous free webmail service when it's venture capitalists abruptly decided to change their biz to something different without adequate notice.:angry:

So, to clarify... in a worst case scenario, if a domain registrar goes belly up and [I]doesn't[/] have a plan for someone else to adopt the domains they steward, what happens? I'd still own my domain correct? If the reseller is part of a larger network like Opensrs the parent co. might step in??:confused:

rhizome

think of openSRS as a safety net and what ever happens to your "originating" register in the years to come, you'll have complete control of your domain name.

Thanks, Scott. That's reassuring:)

Just out of curiosity, what happens with the GoDaddys and Stargateincs of the world in the event of their meltdown, i.e. the non-Opensrs registrars? And what of those unusual niche domain vendors like dot.fm? And who by the way are the other competitors to an organization like Opensrs?

Good question, thats why I choose to spend a dollar or two more and have "some" reasonable amount of security and support and knowing if my registrar un-plugs, I'm still 100% in control. I have also noticed that most openSRS resellers have fantastic support, something else I feel is worth the extra bread.

My registrars currently are:

register.com = .cx domains term ending soon
joker.com = no complaints
dotster.com = getting frustrated with their support
000domains = very happy and moving more there

Originally posted by Scott

My registrars currently are:

joker.com = no complaints


I am also using Joker.com for my .com, .net and .org domain.